Matt. 11:20 – There were several cities that Jesus had performed many miracles in, yet the people did not repent. Many people today state that if they could just witness a miracle, they would believe in Jesus. Yet, Jesus tells us that this is not the case. Many people saw miracles, yet they did not believe.

Matt. 11:27 – Jesus said that the only way to learn about God was through Jesus. He was the only way. Many today think there are other ways. Jesus said, “No” to that idea.

Matt. 12:22-32 – Jesus cast out a demon and people said He was able to do that through the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Jesus argued that made no sense, after all, a house divided cannot stand. Rather, Jesus argued that if you want to pillage someone’s house, you first have to tied up the owner, then you can take all you want. Jesus was not recommending robbery, but rather He wanted people to understand that the way you take people away from Satan’s power was to first limit Satan. And this is what Jesus was doing.

Jesus also stated that anyone who was not with Him, was against Him. There was no middle ground. A person might say that they are spiritual, but not religious. But Jesus said that if you were not with Him, then you were against Him. People against Him do not spend eternity in heaven.

Matt. 12:36 - Jesus said that on the day of judgment, each person will have to give an account for every worthless word they ever spoke. If you think that it doesn’t really matter what you say(or do for that matter), Jesus disagrees with you. The Real Jesus said you will be held accountable for everything you said.

Matt. 12:46-50 - At one point, Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were there to see Him. Jesus said that His mother, brothers and sisters(i.e. His family) were those who did the will of God. If you want to be a part of Jesus’ family, you need to do what God says. Loving Him isn’t good enough. Good intentions are not good enough. Good thoughts are not good enough. You have to do what He says. Why? Because the Real Jesus said so.

Matt. 13:10-15 – After telling a parable, some of Jesus’ disciples asked why He spoke to the people in parables. Jesus responded that some people would see and hear, but not understand. Why? Their hearts were hard. Some people just refuse to listen and understand what Jesus says. It is sad, but it is true, because Jesus said so.

Matt. 13:18-23 – When explaining the Parable of the Sower, Jesus explains that some people hear the gospel message and receive it, gladly. But when trouble or persecution comes, they fall away. Others also receive the message and follow it, until the cares of this world and the deceptiveness of riches causes them to be unproductive. Jesus is telling us that people can obey the gospel and be saved, yet for a variety of reasons, they can fall away. These are people who obeyed the gospel; they were saved; they had their sins forgiven. However, they did not remain faithful. Jesus is letting us know that remaining faithful is necessary. He is also letting us know that we will produce fruit if we are faithful(the good seed).

Matt. 13:36-43 – In explaining another parable, Jesus states that the people of the evil one(Matt. 13:38), that is, sinners who have not joined the kingdom of God, will be thrown into the fiery furnace, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth(Matt. 13:42). Some people do not think that Jesus will send anyone away to hell, but here He clearly states otherwise.

Matt. 13:45-46 – The kingdom of heaven is worth more than anything else, prompting a person to give up everything he possessed to get the kingdom.

Matt. 13:47-50 – Jesus told another parable, the meaning of which was that the evil and the righteous would be separated, and the evil would be cast into a fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing teeth. Jesus confirmed again that people would be sent to hell. The Real Jesus isn’t going to save everyone. Many will perish; most will perish(Matt. 7:13-14).

Matt. 13:58 – Jesus did not do miracles in some places because they did not believe in Him. You might think that if only Jesus would do some miracles, people would believe, however, we saw earlier(Matt. 11:20-24) that this simply was not the case. Miracles did not create belief.

Matt. 14:13-21 – Jesus fed 5,000 men(plus women and children) with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus could feed as many people as He wanted to with as little, or nothing, as He had. This was not spontaneous generosity by the people, but rather a miracle.

Matt. 14:22-33 – Jesus walked on water and so did the apostle Peter, until his faith began to waiver. This was not a mirage, or mistaken understanding. Peter and some of the others were experienced fisherman. They knew the water; they knew the shore. Jesus was walking on the water and so was Peter. That wasn’t possible; it was a miracle. Jesus did that.

Matt. 15:1-9 – Jesus criticized religious leaders for their traditions, which they elevated over God’s laws. Many churches today do this very same thing. They have a tradition, but it violates what the Bible says we should be doing. Jesus criticized that practice, and so should we. We should know what we are supposed to do to worship God, and if the leaders are not doing that, they need to be criticized just like Jesus did.

Matt. 15:18-20 – Jesus said that things like murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony and slander defile a person. What we do, what we say and what we think can defile us. Jesus said so.

Matt. 15:32-39 – Jesus feed 4,000 this time with seven loaves and a few small fish. This is another miracle, just like before.

As we have seen on several occasions already, Jesus has done a lot of miracles. But just because He did miracles, some people still refused to believe. We have so many miracles recorded for us; let’s not be like the people who saw miracles and refused to believe in Jesus. Let’s learn from their mistakes. Let’s listen to Him. Let’s do what He says.